


Disturbing Dreams

by YellowPencils



Category: Wentworth (TV)
Genre: F/M, PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 08:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8438329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowPencils/pseuds/YellowPencils
Summary: Vera comforts Fletch after a nightmare.





	

Vera jolted awake with a gasp, breathing heavily as she tried to work out what had disturbed her.

_"No!"_

Reaching an arm out to switch the lamp on her bedside table on, Vera turned to her right and looked at the man lying next to her.

 _"Wait! Don't go!"_  Fletch shouted, shaking his head from side to side.

 _"Shit!"_ Vera whispered.

She watched him carefully, knowing that he could either fall back into an undisturbed sleep or could spend the rest of the night talking, shouting or, occasionally, even crying in his sleep, as he battled with the scars of his time in the army.

Sometimes his own shouts would wake him up and, as a distraction, he would get up and spend the rest of the night cooking or cleaning. At other times Vera would join him, and they would curl up together on the sofa, either watching TV, or occasionally Fletch would talk about what was going through his head. At other times their only communication was squeezing each other's hand or repeatedly kissing each other gently on the cheek and lips until it was time to get ready for work.

As Fletch started mumbling, fast and indecipherable words, Vera reached out and brushed hair from his damp forehead carefully.

"Matt," she whispered, "It's okay, it's okay..."

Fletch continued to mutter incoherent sentences, tossing and turning a few times while all Vera could do was watch, knowing it was best not to try and wake him. If he did wake, it was much less of a shock if it hadn't been initiated by someone else.

Vera hated to see him like this, but at least he let her see him like this now. The first few times it happened, Fletch would get extremely embarrassed about the state she had seen in him and if they were at her house, before she sold it and moved in with him, would dress and leave as quickly as he could. If they were at his place, he would leap out of bed as soon as he became aware of what he had been doing, insist he was fine and lock himself in the bathroom for a long bath or shower.

Vera had known he only did that because he was hoping that she would fall asleep again before he emerged, which she usually didn't. Then, after one such incident, he emerged from the bathroom to find her sitting at the dining room table with a pot of coffee and two mugs, ordering him to take a seat. The rest of the night had been spent talking frankly about what was going on and she told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't going to let him try and sheild her from it anymore.

"I love you, Matt. I want to be there for you. So unless it does genuinely help you, I'd much rather you talked to me than hid in the bathroom. Or let me hide in the bathroom _with_ you, at least."

"I don't want to worry you. Or scare you," he had admitted reluctantly.

"You're more likely to do that if you shut me out," she had reassured him, squeezing his hands across the table.

Now, Vera could tell that Fletch was starting to wake up and continued to whisper reassuring words at him. Eventually, his eyes began to flicker open and he looked at her blankly.

"Vera?" he asked in confusion.

"Matt," she replied softly, running his hand over his chest "It's okay. I'm here."

He managed a half-smile, placing a hand over hers, "I had a...bad dream."

"I know. But I'm here, Matt, okay?"

"Good."

Vera moved her hand to his head and ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it down. After a couple of quiet minutes, he grabbed the hand tightly.

"You're staying?"

"Of course I am," Vera laughed, "I live here. Where else would I go?"

"I mean...don't get up...please?"

"I won't, not until _you_ want to. We both have tomorrow off, remember? We can stay here as long as we want. Although I can't guarantee I won't need to pee at some point."

"That's okay," he murmured, "As long as you tell me first."

Vera worried about him when he went through these periods, but she also knew that on the whole, they were better than they used to be. He had worked on it with his psychologist and even in the relatively short time they had lived together, she had noticed the difference. She did like to think that she had at least a small part in that, as well.

Fletch shifted closer to Vera and, as he often did at such times, curled up next to her with his head on her chest. Vera smiled, enjoying the comfort that this position brought to both of them, the feeling of Fletch's warm breath being exhaled over the midnight-blue satin of her slip meant that she could tell if and when he went back to sleep, or if he was becoming distressed again. In turn, she moved her arms around him, her left one settling on the arm around her waist and the right on his back. As she stroked his back gently, she could feel the dampness of sweat through his vest.

Leaning down, she placed a gentle kiss on top of his head.

"Try and get some more sleep," she whispered, "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Promise?" he asked, already starting to drift back into unconsciousness.

"Promise," she said, kissing his head once more, "Do you want the light on or off?"

"On," he muttered, tightening his arm around her waist, "Need to be able to see you."

Vera smiled into his hair, "Whatever you need, Matt. I love you."

"Love you too," Fletch muttered, barely audible as sleep overtook him once more.


End file.
